Disclaimer

Too long; didn’t read

• Level: Beginner-intermediate

• Tools: Shader code (GLSL), browser shader editor (fragcoord.xyz or similar)

• Focus: Drawing images in the GPU using only math; learning just enough to tinker, combine and play

• Prereqs: Basic code literacy; curiosity for visuals

• Project: A shader-based visual artwork

Full Description

Shader communites like shadertoy.com reveal an expressive, malleable medium with its own history and techniques. Understanding the equations to make images purely from math can be intimidating, but it’s a unique craft worth exploring.

Using a live shader editor, we’ll break down seemingly complex code into malleable bits we can understand as visual artists. We’ll tinker with open source artworks and learn techniques and equations for determining color, motion and shapes in the GPU.

Students will learn how to fork shader art online to learn from it. By the end of this class, students will be able to create their own analytical shader images.

Course of Study

• Week 1: Introduction, Shader Artists and the Demoscene, Online shader editors

• Week 2: Our First Shader

• Week 3: Calculating Gradients and Colors, Interactivity

• Week 4: Noise, Color Accumulation and Tonemapping

• Week 5: Artistic Potential of Analytical Shapes, 2D Effects.

• Week 6: 3D Techniques

• Week 7: 3D Signed Distance Fields, Volumetric Shapes

• Week 8: Landscapes, Atmosphere and Vistas - Final Assignment Prep

• Week 9: Advanced Shaders Showcase - Final Assignment Check-in

• Week 10: Final Showcase

Expectations

Time & Workload

• 3-4 hours a week outside of class for assignments and playful experimentation

Technical Experience

Students should be comfortable coding in another language, but no GLSL experience required.

Materials

• Laptop/computer (no tablets, phones or Chromebooks). A dedicated graphics card/gaming computer would be useful for performance, but not required.

• A second screen (or device) for the video chat so that you can follow along with in-class tutorials easier would be helpful.

Is this class for me?

This class may be for you if you:

• Shader artworks like in fragcoord.xyz/explore fascinate you, even if you don’t understand the code

• Enjoy learning new techniques for generating visuals

• Have an interest in computer graphics or technical art

• Like to “fiddle with the numbers until it looks good”

This class may NOT be for you if you:

• Cannot stand unfamiliar code or math equations

• Aren’t comfortable editing code and thinking a bit about math

• Are an advanced shader creator